Seven Sub-$160 Z77 Express Motherboards, Reviewed

MSI Z77A-G45

Two enormous voltage regulator heat sinks, three graphics card slots, and an I/O panel full of connectors are perfect examples of how MSI sees its Z77A-G45 taking back the value crown from a certain similarly-priced competitor. Aesthetics aside, we’ll put those big sinks to use in our heat and overclocking analysis.

Those three long slots are configured as x16-x0-x4 or x8-x8-x4, with the four-lane slot deriving its connectivity from the Z77 PCH. That actually makes this a two-way SLI motherboard, according to both its slot configuration and its silk-screened logo, with the top two slots sharing the CPU’s sixteen PCIe 3.0 lanes. Three-way CrossFireX is available via the third slot, but we wouldn’t hamper any high-end card with so little bandwidth. These slots put the Z77A-G45’s graphics capability on-par with the more-expensive Gigabyte and ECS products in today’s comparison.

The biggest problem with the slots is not configuration, but documentation. MSI refers to the Z77A-G45 as three-way SLI-compatible, but Nvidia doesn’t support a third card through the slower four-lane, second-gen slot. And the documentation foibles don’t end there, as both the manual and specifications page try to convince us that both slots are 16-lane-capable. Four two-lane pathway switches above the top x16 slot let us know otherwise, and we think (or at least hope) that these documentation mistakes were accidental.

MSI saves one of the Z77’s PCIe 2.0 lanes by omitting the PCIe-to-PCI bridge needed by certain competing boards to support legacy slots, and then uses it on a PCIe-based network controller. Only three PCIe 2.0 lanes remain to feed four x1 slots, so MSI decided to connect both of the center x1 slots to the same pathway. These can’t be used simultaneously. Appearing to be a blatant move to artificially bolster the board’s spec sheet, we think MSI should have simply left off the x1 slot immediately below the top x16 interface. The GPU coolers of most high-performance graphics cards cover that slot anyway.

MSI doesn’t include a Port 80 diagnostics display to assist overclocking diagnostics, but does add a row of voltage checking points near the board’s front edge to address an overclocker’s voltage monitoring needs.

The Z77A-G45’s layout is fairly straightforward without any major issues to affect a majority of new builds. Users upgrading older systems may find that their hard drive cage blocks access to the board’s forward-facing SATA and USB 3.0 slots, or even that their front-panel audio cables are too short to reach the bottom-rear corner header. If either of these appear in doubt, we recommend starting your upgrade with a better case.

The Z77A-G45 we received was packaged for a different region, without the SLI bridge we would have expected. A quick check with one of our favorite vendors showed that U.S.-destined boards do get that part, but are still limited to two SATA cables.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
Latest in Chipsets
AMD Headquarters Santa Clara
AMD expected to release 800 series motherboard chipsets for Ryzen 9000 CPUs — chipset series numbers to run in parallel to Intel
Huawei
Huawei's sanctions-evading Kirin 9000S processor tested: significantly behind its Kirin 9000 predecessor that used TSMC tech
Huawei
Die Shot of HiSilicon's Sanction-Busting Kirin 9000s Chip Revealed
Wi-Fi 7
Intel's Wi-Fi 7 Adapters, Chipsets Arriving Soon
AMD's StoreMI V2 Updates Support, 400-Series AMD Chipsets Added
AMD X470 vs Intel Z390: High-End Platforms Square Off
Latest in Features
Free Alternatives to Photoshop
Five Best Photoshop Alternatives Tested: Image Editing for Free
Awekeys Antiques Metal keycaps
Awekeys Antiques Metal keycaps are Viking-themed luxury for your fingertips
The Gigabyte X870E AORUS ELITE WIFI7
Get the most out of your processor with this motherboard's Turbo Mode
AMD RDNA 4 and Radeon RX 9000-series GPUs
AMD RDNA 4 and Radeon RX 9000-series GPUs start at $549: Specifications, release date, pricing, and more revealed
MSI Prestige GPU
Tested: Intel's Arrow Lake 140T iGPU mostly maintains an edge over AMD's older 880m
MechBoards Hyper7 R4
I’m typing this on the world’s largest keyboard, a 178-key beast designed to make you more productive
  • SpadeM
    LAN performance .. ISC performance ... USB 3 .. well that's it then.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    SpadeMLAN performance .. ISC performance ... USB 3 .. well that's it then.Tom's Hardware has several controller comparisons, and publishes new ones frequently. So unless you think one of the boards has a broken controller, wysiwyg.

    The things that actually get screwed-up are typically related to the clock generator, multiplier control, memory timings and power options.
    Reply
  • nikorr
    I would place the ASRock and Gigabyte on the top as well : )

    Nice review.
    Reply
  • jaquith
    I always appreciate your Articles! :) I know how much work you do to get them done.

    You're kidding - Biostar. I guess this article is not about the 'Best Sub-$160 Z77' MOBO's but about the best manufacturers sent you. The cheapest MOBO I recommend for the SB/IB (K) is the ASUS P8Z77-V which pops your 'unique' budget cap depending where you shop; found it here for $159.99 - http://www.gadgetneeds.net/asus-p8z77-v-atx-intel-motherboard/

    Interesting you didn't get an ASUS P8Z77-V LK ~$120 which offers SLI. The ASRock Z77 Extreme4 and Gigabyte Z77X-D3H for the price aren't bad.

    There's NO WAY I'm recommending Biostar in the forum, folks and myself would thing I've lost my mind.
    Reply
  • jimishtar
    It would be nice to see the CPU voltage for every board when overclocking.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    jimishtarIt would be nice to see the CPU voltage for every board when overclocking.1.25V
    Reply
  • gorillagarrett
    No peripherals performance tests? Those are the only tests that differentiate those motherboards from each other.

    Would really like to see how the UD3X Atheros Ethernet controller fares against the Intel and broadcom ones.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    gorillagarrettNo peripherals performance tests? Those are the only tests that differentiate those motherboards from each other. Would really like to see how the UD3X Atheros Ethernet controller fares against the Intel and broadcom ones.I'll let the integrated controller guy know you'd like to see those parts compared :)
    Reply
  • gorillagarrett
    I'll let the integrated controller guy know you'd like to see those parts compared

    Thank you!
    Reply
  • rolli59
    I would have liked to see the Asus P8Z77V-LK version instead of the LX since it is better equipped.
    Reply